Tractor or other vehicle wheel



Jan. 27, 1942. M. E.'R. BERNARDON 2,271,360

TRACTOR OR OTHER VEHICLE WHEEL Filed JG JI. 23, 1959 '10 1Y5 24 ml; 4

5 j 1?:10 I FT 11 9f;

m HIKE W 5/2 2 Patented Jan. 27, 1942 STATES J PATENT TRACTOR a orHEavEHicLE WHEEL Marcellin Eugene I Ren Bernardon, Paris,

France, assignor to Societe Anonyme des Pneumatiques Dunlop pany of France Paris, France, a co n- Application January 23,1939, Serial No. 252,458

In France 'Februaryll, 1938 Claims.

In my prior U. S. patent application Ser. No. 172,479, filed 'Nov. 2, 1937, now Patent No.

2,191,950, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part, I have described improve-' ments in vehicle wheels, and especially tractor wheels, for obtaining a better adhesion of the wheel on the ground. These improvements include, in particular, the provision, on the wheel, of an annular part oryauxiliary support intended to receive removable blades'capable of occupying either of two different positions, according that it is possible, through very simple means, to

make them capable of resisting detrimental displacements which tendto move them out from I their housings.

The object of the present'invention is to provide a wheel of the type above described which is better adapted to meet the requirements of practice than wheels of the same type made up to the present time.

According to the essential feature of the present invention, I provide a wheel of the type above described with means for opposing a radial displacement of the blades, at least when said blades are in the active position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the above mentioned means include elements carried bysaid support and said blades,

respectively, adapted to coact by hearing against one another, one of these elements being a part existing, for instance, normally on the support. In particular, one of the elements may be a projection or lug carried by each blade, whereas the otheris a part of the wheel, such for instance as the nut or stud which serves to connect the blade with its support.

According to. another embodiment of the present invention, or in combination with the above mentioned arrangement, a blade and its support (in particular the nut of the holding stud fixed on the support proper) are provided with inclined surfaces intended to come in contact with one another and to produce a 'wedging which prevents any tendency to the displacement which is to be avoided.

Another feature of thepresent inventioncon- .cerns the particular structure or. the blad'esof the wheel. I 1

' Other features of the present invention will some" specific, embodiments thereof. Preferred embodiments of the present inven result from the'following detailed description 'o'f tion will behereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawing, given merely. by way ofexample, and in which: i

Fig. 1 is a front View of a Wheel blade madeaccording to the prior patent application above referred to;

Fig. 2 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, showingthe, I

blade in a difierent position Fig, 3 is a sectional view'on the line mgm 9 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a front view showin in the {same r manner as Fig. 1, a blade made accordingtothe 1 present invention;

Fig. 5 is 'a part sectional of Fig. 4;

Fig."6is a front view of a blade made. accord ing to another embodiment of'the invention; Fig. 7 is a sectional view corresponding: to

Fi .6; I

Fig. 8 shows, on .anenlarged scale, a detail of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9'is a sectional view on the line IX--I X"o'f, Fig. 4; and y Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to that shown inFig. 8, but illustrating a further 5 embodiment'of the invention,

' As shown by the drawing," an annular 5 carried by the wheel is provided with recesses," J I housings or grooves, having convergent, sides 9 so as to receive blades l0. Along theaxial line] of these housings I provide studs ll rigid with annular member 5 and adapted to receive the 401 i tightening nuts 12 of the blades.

' Furthermore, small plates I3 ar ejfixed in' any suitable manner to the bosses I4 which-separate said housings or recesses from one "anotherand f in the part thereof that is nearer to thece'nter of the wheel. These small plates l3, which project slightly from the sides 9 of the housings, are in tended to reduce the stress supported by studs ll, and'also to prevent the lateral pivoting of the blades in the eventuality of nuts I 2 being loosened.

Experience has taught that', with an arrange- 'ment of thekind of that disclosed by Fig; 1,; ef.- y forts occur, when the blades are inservice, which tend to move each blade Ill in th'e'direction of arrow F. In particular, when the vehicle is runmember j ning on sticky ground, earth is forced between the pneumatic tire and the blade and, furthermore, when the blade is pulled out from the ground, a suction is produced. As a consequence, efforts are produced a component of which is in the direction of arrow F. If the tightening of screw I2 is insufficient, the blade finally escapes from plates I3, which permits it to swing. It can even escape to nut I2, as shown by Figs. 2' and 3, and it is then free to oscillate laterally (direction of arrows F1 and F2) and it can be detached from the wheel. I

According to the present invention, in the embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5, such a displacement of blade I is made impossible by providing a boss, lug or projection 20 on the blade (this part being for instance cast integral with said blade or fixed thereto) which is stopped by nut I2 when the blade tends to move outwardly from its hous- In the embodiment shown by Figs. 6 to 8, blade I0 is provided with an inclined surface 22 and stud II is fixed obliquely in annular member 5, in such manner as to be at right angles to surface 22, whereby the bearing surface of nut 24 is correctly applied upon this surface 22; it will be readily understood that, with such an arrangement, any tendency to displacement of blade I0 in the direction ofarrow F produces a wedging of this blade between the annular member and the nut. I may provide on the blade a second inclined surface 25 for obtaining the same result as above set forth when the blade is in inoperative position.

It has been supposed that nut I2 is carried by I a stud II perpendicular to surface 22, that is to say that the inclination B of surface 22 with respect to the bearing surface of the blade on supferent from those disclosed by the prior application above referred to, especially concerning the shape of their pointed end and by the fact that ing laterally inclined edges adapted to be engaged with said side walls, a nut on each stud, each blade having an elongated centrally enlarged slot adapted to ride on said stud so as to enable the blade to be either rigidly fixed in its recess by means of said nut when screwed down on said stud and by means of the wedging action between said side walls and respective laterally inclined edges of the blade with its triangular wedge-like portion projecting outwardly from the wheel in its operative position, or to be reversed and set into its inoperative position with the said triinstead of being of U-shaped section, they are of,

I-shaped section; this last mentioned feature (see L in particular Fig. 9) is interesting in that blade I0 bears upon support 5 merely through the edges pressure on nut 24 thus opposing its loosening.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and efficient embodiments of the present in- .vention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, andform of the parts without departing from hended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A vehicle wheel with peripheral ground gripping blades, comprising a concentrical annular the principle of the present invention as compremember for supporting such blades in radial reangular wedge-like portion turned inwardly.

2. A vehicle wheel with peripheral ground gripping blades, comprising a concentrical annular member for supporting such blades in radial recesses made along its periphery, these recesses having two inwardly converging side walls, a threaded stud rigidly projecting between these side walls, projections on said annular member extending beyond said respective side walls and partly overlapping said recesses, said blades each constituted by two opposed wedge-like portions, one being substantially triangular and the other truncated, forming laterally inclined edges adapted to be engaged with said side walls, a nut on each stud each blade having an elongated centrally enlarged slot adapted to ride on said stud so as to enable the blade to be either rigidly fixed in its recess by means of said nut when screwed down on said stud by means of the wedging action between said side walls and respective laterally inclined edges of the blade and under the action of said overlapping projections upon respective laterally inclined edges of the blade with its triangular wedge-like portion projecting outwardly from the wheel in its operative'position, or to be reversed and set into its inoperative position with the said triangular wedge-like portion turned inwardly.

3. A vehicle wheel with peripheral ground gripping blades, comprising a concentrical annular member for supporting such blades in radial recesses made along its periphery, said recesses having two inwardly converging side walls, a threaded stud obliquely projecting from, and rigid with the recess between its side walls, projections on said annular member extending beyond said respective side walls and partly overlapping said recesses, said blades each constituted by two opposed wedge-like portions, one being substantially triangular and the other truncated, forming laterally inclined edges adapted to be engaged with said side walls, a nut on each stud each blade having an elongated centrally enlarged slot and adjacent thereto an inclined area, said slot being adapted to ride on said stud so as to enable the blade to be either rigidly fixed in its recess by means of said nut when screwed down on said stud by means of the wedging action between said side walls and respective laterally inclined edges of the blade and by means of the double action of said overlapping projections upon respective blade inclined edges and of the said nut upon said in clined area of the blade in full contact with the nut base, the blade having its triangular wedgelike portion projecting outwardly from the wheel in its operative position, or to be reversed and set into its inoperative position with its triangular wedge-like portion turned inwardly.

4. A vehicle wheel with peripheral ground gripping blades, comprising a concentrical annular member for supporting such blades in radial retruncated,

cesses made along its'periphery, said recesses having two inwardly converging side walls, a threaded stud obliquely projecting from, and rigid with the recess between said side walls, projections on said annular member extending beyond said respective side walls and partly overlapping said recesses, said blades each constituted by two opposed wedge-like portions, one being substantially triangular and the other forming laterally inclined edges adapted to be engaged with said side walls, a nut on each stud each blade having an elongated centrally enlarged slot and adjacent thereto an inclined area, said slot being adapted to ride on said stud so as to enable the blade to be either rigidly fixed in its recess, with its triangular wedge-like portion projecting outwardy from the wheel in its operative position, by means of said nut when screwed down in said stud by means of the wedging action between said side walls and respective laterally inclined edges of the blade and by means of the double action of said overlapping projections upon respective blade laterally inclined edges and of the said nut upon the said blade inclined area being bitingly gripped by a portion of the nut base, or to be reversed and set into its inoperative position with the said triangular wedge-like portion turned inwardly.

5. A vehicle wheel with peripheral ground grip-v flanges adapted to rest against the recess bottom and its web to span the recess between its side walls and the blade having an elongated centrally enlarged slot adapted to ride on said stud so as to enable the blade to be either rigidly fixed in its recess, with its triangular wedge-like portion projecting outwardly from the wheel in its operative position, by means of said nut when screwed down on said stud by means of the wedging actionbetween said side walls and respective laterally inclined edges of the blade and by means of the action of said nut upon the blade web being resiliently compressed thereby, or to be reversed and set into its inoperative position with its triangular wedge-like portion turned inwardly.

MARCELLIN EUGENE RENE BERNARDON. 

